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Think from KERA

KERA

Think is a daily, topic-driven interview and call-in program hosted by Krys Boyd covering a wide variety of topics ranging from history, politics, current events, science, technology and emerging trends to food and wine, travel, adventure, and entertainment.

071003

Think is a daily, topic-driven interview and call-in program hosted by Krys Boyd covering a wide variety of topics ranging from history, politics, current events, science, technology and emerging trends to food and wine, travel, adventure, and entertainment.

071003
76hr 47min
Thumbnail for "One more reason we can’t talk to strangers".
Ben Fritz, entertainment industry reporter for The Wall Street Journal, gets into why hyper-individualized content is coming at the expense of culture.
Thumbnail for "The mother who needed homeschooling".
Homeschooled: A Memoir Author Stefan Merrill Block discusses why his mother thought public school would kill his creativity and how he thinks of homeschooling today.
Thumbnail for "Is the supreme court more powerful than congress now?".
Duncan Hosie discusses how the Supreme Court is stripping Congress of its influence.
Thumbnail for "U.S. defense strategy from Washington to Trump".
Michael O’Hanlon, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institution, joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the evolution of how the nation approaches defense – from fledgling republic to global superpower.
Thumbnail for "Will Trump make television great again?".
Jim Rutenberg, writer at large for The New York Times Magazine, discusses the role of the FCC during President Trump’s time in office.
Thumbnail for "The U.N. Charter used to prevent war".
Oona A. Hathaway, the president-elect of the American Society of International Law discusses why a golden age of treaties seems to be tarnishing.
Thumbnail for "Civilians v. ICE".
Molly Hennessy-Fiske, national reporter for The Washington Post, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the killing of Renée Good has put new focus on the tactics protestors use and what legal experts say about possible charges.
Thumbnail for "Dictionaries are not what they used to be".
Journalist and author Stefan Fatsis discusses how A.I. is changing the traditional dictionary and why dictionaries are more complicated than you might think.
Thumbnail for "Gen X has finally arrived".
Writer Amanda Fortini joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the last generation with an analog childhood is finally in the limelight.
Thumbnail for "Who is Gavin Newsom, really?".
Helen Lewis, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Newsom’s positioning as a leading candidate to run for president in 2028.
Thumbnail for "Unpacking the Donroe Doctrine".
Joshua Keating, a senior foreign policy correspondent at Vox, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why Trump believes the U.S. has a right to intervene in global affairs across the Western hemisphere.
Thumbnail for "Why do only some drinkers become drunks?".
Dr. Charles Knowles, professor of surgery at Queen Mary University of London, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the science of addiction and his own problem drinking.
Thumbnail for "Is football forever?".
Author Chuck Klosterman joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss all things football.
Thumbnail for "What global experts worry about in 2026".
Paul Stares is General John W. Vessey Senior Fellow for Conflict Prevention and director of the Center for Preventive Action, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss CFR’s annual conflict risk assessment survey.
Thumbnail for "What about the rest of Latin America?".
Will Freeman is a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss Nicolás Maduro’s removal and the United States’ new bid for dominance in Latin America.
Thumbnail for "Will vitamin c cure your cold?".
Daniel M. Davis is head of life sciences and professor of immunology at Imperial College London. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the facts vs. myths of keeping your immune system healthy.
Thumbnail for "You’re funnier than you think".
Chris Duffy is a comedian and host of TED’s podcast “How to Be a Better Human,” and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the link between humor and innovation.
Thumbnail for "A.I. is changing the business of sex".
Avantika Chilkoti, Global Business Correspondent for The Economist, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how A.I. is affecting the pornography industry.
Thumbnail for "David Greene’s obsession with obsessives".
David Greene, journalist, author and former host of NPR’s Morning Edition, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss his dive into people’s personal obsessions.
Thumbnail for "Bye bye binary, welcome to the poly era".
Binary thinking is black or white, on or off, good or bad – and our modern world requires a more nuanced approach. New York Times opinion columnist Thomas L. Friedman
Thumbnail for "Fish have feelings too".
Marina Bolotnikova, Deputy Editor for Vox’s Future Perfect, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how scientists are coming to the conclusion that fish feel pain.
Thumbnail for "Geothermal energy is the next hot thing".
New Yorker staff writer Rivka Galchen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss geothermal energy, which pulls energy from the ground.
Thumbnail for "Your memories are subject to change".
Steve Ramirez, neuroscientist and associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Boston University, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how certain memories might be edited with pulses of light and what this means for people dealing with life-altering trauma.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: How to have a career that matters".
Rutger Bregman, historian and co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why so many people feel like their jobs don’t make a difference in the world.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: The lost history of ‘Black girl magic’".
Lindsey Stewart joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the medicine that stemmed from African traditions that was often more trusted than white doctors’ advice, how this magic was passed down through generations, and how it endures today.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: Eureka! How your brain figures it out".
John Kounios is professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and director of the Creativity Research Lab at Drexel University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what scientists understand about how the brain solves problems – and how we might tap into this phenomenon more often.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: The joy of being a word nerd".
Martha Barnette, co-host of the popular radio show and podcast “A Way with Words,” joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her love of language and all the myriad ways words bring us joy.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: What makes a genius".
Helen Lewis is a staff writer at The Atlantic and host of the BBC podcast series “The New Gurus” and “Helen Lewis Has Left the Chat”. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the very idea of “genius” is a social construct.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: A scientific guide to a better brain".
This hour, host Krys Boyd is joined by three guests who will explain how we can regain our ability to focus and tame our overactive minds – plus we’ll learn all about the growing research into the many ways listening to music benefits our brains.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: Why everybody is a foodie now".
Journalist and “The Great British Bakeoff” finalist Ruby Tandoh joins why everyone is a “foodie” now.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: Stuff you can do to be happier".
Arthur C. Brooks, a Harvard Professor and columnist at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a compendium of his columns about the pursuit of happiness.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: The secrets of super healthy old people".
Dr. Eric Topol is executive vice president and a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research and he joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the study of what he calls the “wellderly” – those people who age to 80 without chronic disease.
Thumbnail for "Best of Think '25: Don’t worry if you can’t sleep".
Jennifer Senior, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss sleep anxiety, why we find it so hard to get a good night’s rest, and why hunting for the best how-to articles on the topic might be making things worse.
Thumbnail for "The sexualization of girl power".
Sophie Gilbert joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what coming of age in the early aughts meant for young women in an atmosphere of highly sexualized body image, how porn manifested itself into pop culture, and what society had to say about powerful women.
Thumbnail for "How to get better at self-improvement".
Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss strategies for Average Joe’s to excel.
Thumbnail for "Will A.I kill imagination?".
Joshua Rothman, a staff writer for The New Yorker, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens when we rely on A.I. for culture.
Thumbnail for "Misogyny drives all types of violence – not just against women".
Cynthia Miller-Idriss joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why we need to confront misogyny head on to prevent future acts of violence, and why attackers so often blame women for their hateful beliefs.
Thumbnail for "The best books of 2025".
Gilbert Cruz, NYT Book Review editor, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the best five fiction and five nonfiction selections to earn the title this year.
Thumbnail for "Why some people can’t picture stuff in their heads".
New Yorker staff writer Larissa MacFarquhar joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss a condition that makes it impossible for people to put their thoughts into mental images.
Thumbnail for "How to control your dreams".
Michelle Carr joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss how we can take control of our dreams.
Thumbnail for "The U.S. state that could have been a Black utopia".
Journalist Caleb Gayle joins guest host John McCaa to tell the story of Edward McCabe, who made it his life’s work to set up a Black state in Oklahoma.
Thumbnail for "The countries the U.S. and China can't write off".
Emma Ashford is a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, and she joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the implications of moving to a multipolarity, in which Russia, India and others hold increasing sway over global affairs.
Thumbnail for "The body parts you can (and can’t yet) replace".
Science journalist Mary Roach joins guest host Paige Phelps to discuss the myriad of ways researchers are making progress on creating new body parts
Thumbnail for "The surprising reason people name their cars".
Researcher Justin Gregg joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the benefits of anthropomorphism and the detriments of dehumanization.
Thumbnail for "Does anyone still work a 9-5?".
Andrew Blackman joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the history of the 40-hour week and how we might shave off even more hours in our modern era.
Thumbnail for "The historic sentence that still defines America".
Walter Isaacson joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how one sentence in the Declaration of Independence set out a promise of America.
Thumbnail for "How rewards programs trick their most loyal costumers".
Former director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Samuel A.A. Levine joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how loyalty programs can hurt consumers.
Thumbnail for "What we miss when an app translates for us".
Ross Benjamin joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why being less than fluent in a language affects how we pay attention and learn.
Thumbnail for "Wear this not that – if you care about the planet".
Laila Petrie, director general of the charity Future Earth Lab, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss sustainability in fashion and how fast fashion contributes to climate change.
Thumbnail for "Why you fight about the dishwasher".
Ellen Cushing, staff writer for The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why arguments over daily chores might signal deeper issues in a partnership, why some household appliances have such a hold on us, and, yes, we’ll get to scientific proof of how that dishwasher is really supposed to be loaded.
Thumbnail for "How philanthropy makes America possible".
Host Krys Boyd talks with three guests about the role of philanthropy in America.
Thumbnail for "Why singles are giving up on dating".
Jonathan Rosenthal joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why young people are throwing in the towel on finding the perfect partner.
Thumbnail for "When will A.I. want to kill us?".
Nate Soares joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens when A.I. brain power surpasses what humans are capable of.
Thumbnail for "The U.S. has never had a common identity".
Historian Colin Woodard joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the civics lessons we’re taught about our country are sometimes overridden by regional cultures and how a new national story might bring us together.
Thumbnail for "The wartime justification of deportations".
Qian Julie Wang joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how the Alien and Sedition Acts are being used in public policy today.
Thumbnail for "Why we need laws to be specific".
Matthew Purdy joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the Trump administration has intentionally created vagaries and how that helps to consolidate presidential power.
Thumbnail for "Can you trust generic drugs?".
Investigative journalist Debbie Cenziper joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how medicines made in overseas labs don’t always meet U.S. safety standards.
Thumbnail for "The man (or woman) behind the curtain of A.I.".
Tech reporter Varsha Bansal joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the grueling work of training A.I. to give answers that are fact checked and meet safety guidelines.
Thumbnail for "Women want testosterone, too".
Susan Dominus joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why middle-aged women are raving about the benefits of testosterone.
Thumbnail for "The hidden history of ultra-processed food".
Alice Callahan is a New York Times reporter with a Ph.D. in nutrition, and she joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why our diets became so reliant on foods made in a factory.
Thumbnail for "Everybody can read but nobody does".
James Marriott joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens to a society that stops thinking deeply and focuses on the doomscroll.
Thumbnail for "How we make child stars miserable".
New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the life cycle of the child star.
Thumbnail for "America 2025: Would the founders be shook?".
Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the seismic legal and moral shifts that have happened since the Declaration of Independence.
Thumbnail for "Stop blaming moms for autism".
Sara Luterman, the Disability and Aging Reporter for The 19th, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the so-called “refrigerator moms” of the 1950s.
Thumbnail for "Did life start more than once?".
Journalist Asher Elbein joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how one discovery in Africa is having scientists radically rethinking when life emerged.
Thumbnail for "Why tech moguls think they’re saving humanity".
Science journalist Adam Becker joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the ways Silicon Valley scions might have A.I. all wrong, the obsession with space colonies and why we aren’t asking more critical questions for their version of the future.
Thumbnail for "Why don’t fish sink?".
Sönke Johnsen joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the wonders of vertical migration, why sharks must keep swimming to stay alive, and the clues offered to biologists that help piece together the questions of aquatic life evolution.
Thumbnail for "The truth about trans gun ownership".
Writer and critic Grace Byron joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why gun ownership among trans individuals.
Thumbnail for "The Christian core of horror movies".
Bryan P. Stone joins host Krys Boyd to discuss horror and how it draws on Christian imagery and anxieties.
Thumbnail for "What it takes to keep the peace in Gaza".
Natasha Hall joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how President Trump’s strong demands on Israel and Hamas forced both sides to the table, and what happens to any future deals if both sides can’t keep to the terms of the agreement.
Thumbnail for "What space medicine can do for us all".
Shayna Korol joins host Krys Boyd to discuss a new field of space medicine.
Thumbnail for "You might be paying Amazon’s power bill".
Karen Weise joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how data centers are driving up electricity costs for everyone.
Thumbnail for "Is the VA’s disability program broken?".
Investigative reporter Craig Whitlock joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the veteran disability claim process.
Thumbnail for "Why everybody is hating on NGOs".
Suparna Chaudhry joins guest host John McCaa to discuss what happened to the reputation of NGOs.
Thumbnail for "Where skilled workers want to live".
Patience Fairbrother joins host Krys Boyd to discuss their research into where highly-skilled talent lands.
Thumbnail for "Open adoptions are still complicated".
Author Nicole Chung joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why open adoptions are more complicated than it may look from the outset.
Thumbnail for "Climate change and its new ethical dilemmas".
Bioethics expert Travis Rieder joins Krys Boyd to discuss how individuals should consider their approach to climate change.
Thumbnail for "A former Poet Laureate on the wisdom of Native women".
Former poet laureate Joy Harjo joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her life and upcoming book.
Thumbnail for "How to ease the energy crunch".
Brian Deese joins guest host John McCaa to discuss how energy hungry A.I. is putting pressure on the grid.
Thumbnail for "Why everybody is a foodie now".
Journalist and “The Great British Bakeoff” finalist Ruby Tandoh joins why everyone is a “foodie” now.
Thumbnail for "The world’s deadliest animal? Mosquitoes".
Journalist Umair Irfan joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why climate change is making the mosquitoes population boom.
Thumbnail for "Forget the cloud, the internet runs on wires".
Author Samanth Subramanian joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how internet access relies on fragile cables running along the bottom of the ocean.
Thumbnail for "Would you go to an A.I. doctor?".
Physician and contributing writer at The New Yorker Dhruv Khullar joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the use of A.I. in medicine.
Thumbnail for "Could extinct animals be brought back?".
Matt James, chief animal officer for Colossal Biosciences, joins host Krys Boyd to talk about the company’s success bringing back the dire wolf in what it calls a de-extinction process.
Thumbnail for "Why is Trump defunding federal cancer research?".
New York Times Magazine staff writer Jonathan Mahler joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how Trump administration efforts to target suspected waste and abuse have shut down vital cancer research.
Thumbnail for "How to build a better city".
What we prioritize in our cities impacts how we work, live and play. In this episode, host Krys Boyd talks to three experts about creating a walkable city, how zoning codes are quietly shaping your daily life, and the ways that urban green spaces can promote biodiverse wildlife.
Thumbnail for "The Texas roots of America's far right".
Author Jeff Roche joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how “cowboy conservativism” spread across the nation.
Thumbnail for "The bumps in the road facing self-driving cars".
Transportation expert David Zipper joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of autonomous vehicles.
Thumbnail for "Jane Goodall in her own words".
Jane Goodall died this week at the age of 91. In 2016, she spoke with host Krys Boyd about her life’s work.
Thumbnail for "The four day fix to the housing crunch".
Slate staff writer Henry Grabar joins host Krys Boyd to discuss new, pre-fabricated housing options
Thumbnail for "Will A.I kill imagination?".
Joshua Rothman, a staff writer for The New Yorker, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss what happens when we rely on A.I. for culture.
Thumbnail for "Gen X isn’t slacking on parenting".
David French, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the over-parenting of Gen X .
Thumbnail for "The lost history of ‘Black girl magic’".
Lindsey Stewart joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the medicine that stemmed from African traditions that was often more trusted than white doctors’ advice, how this magic was passed down through generations, and how it endures today.
Thumbnail for "In this true crime story, the victim survived".
Author Karen Palmer joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss the early teenage trauma that drove her into a dangerous relationship with her ex-husband.
Thumbnail for "Why young women are going off the pill".
Emma Goldberg, business features writer for The New York Times, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why a growing number of women are pushing back on taking hormonal birth control.
Thumbnail for "Would you date a chatbot?".
Patricia Marx, staff writer for The New Yorker, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss her experiment into “dating” A.I. models.
Thumbnail for "I know what you know – why that’s good for both of us".
Harvard Psychology Professor Steven Pinker joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the rules of society we all know and follow and the ways our world would fall apart if people disregarded this social contract.
Thumbnail for "Why the world can’t easily quit the U.S. economy".
Mohamed A. El-Erian, president of Queens’ College, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how American economic trends spread globally.
Thumbnail for "Why we’re addicted to revenge".
James Kimmel Jr., a lecturer in psychiatry at Yale, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss parts of the brain that light up when talking about revenge and what happens when we focus on forgiveness instead.
Thumbnail for "The end of peanut allergies".
Journalist Maryn McKenna joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why peanut allergies jumped astronomically since the 1990s and how researchers are zeroing in on cures for a hypervigilant population of allergy sufferers.
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